


Between Busses

by ticknart



Series: Alliterative Association [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 02:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticknart/pseuds/ticknart
Summary: Dipper is home for Thanksgiving. Mabel worries about him being lonely.





	Between Busses

Dipper Pines stood and stretched as the other passengers pushed their way into the aisle of the bus to try to be the first off. He yawned and scratched his stomach, watching those who made it into the aisle shuffle and trip over their own feet. He didn't understand why people had to rush. It would be so much easier if the people in the front of the bus got off first, then the second, and so on.

People didn't work that way, though. Logically, that is. Sometimes someone tapped the brake pedal and thirty minutes later there was a traffic jam, despite a lack of exits or accidents. Why did everyone for miles down the freeway have to push their brakes, too? Dipper thought that was an answer best left to the psychologists of the world.

He stretched again, picked up his backpack and checked to make sure it was zipped up before slinging it over his shoulder, and then he sat down. He'd already spent about ten hours, overnight, on the bus, what were a few more minutes? The all night bus ride was the only way he could finish his classes on Wednesday and make it home in time for Thanksgiving dinner. He'd have to do this again at Christmas, too, when the dorms closed. His parents had made it clear that he was no longer a caterpillar, but a butterfly that had been released to the world to find its own way. At least they kept him on their insurance.

He looked at his watch. The bus had arrived about ten minutes later then it was scheduled to. He looked out the window. Mabel, his twin sister, was supposed to meet him at the bus station. Of course, he didn't see her. If it hadn't been for him, she would have been late to everything for the last eighteen years.

He wondered if she was ever on time to her classes across the bay. Two lines into San Francisco went through the station nearest to home, so that shouldn't delay her. The station in the city was close to her school; she could walk without much distraction. The bus to the BART station, though, that would be her problem. It only came a couple of times an hour. If she missed the one she needed, she'd be late.

Less people were coming down the aisle. Dipper stood up and straightened his backpack before stepping behind a leathery looking woman.

As he walked he wondered if he should set some alarms on Mabel's phone while he was home. So she would leave for school on time. No, he should set the alarms for her. He wanted to help her even though he wasn't there with her. The real question was if he should ask her if she wanted the alarms. There were too many times in the past couple of years when she'd get upset at him when he offered help and she hadn't asked first. It was just another part of getting older and growing apart. Too often he missed the days when they were best friends.

There was a time when they were practically inseparable. When she wanted more paint, he would go with her. When he wanted to drool over telescopes, she'd go with him. They both went to the library as much as possible for a long time. They could talk about anything and one wouldn't judge the other. Best of all, though, was when they could just be in the same room together and simply be. It was those times when Dipper had felt the most comfortable in his life. Too bad they had to go to high school.

He smiled sadly as he stepped off the bus, out into the November air. The Greyhound station smelled like stale exhaust, but when a chilly breeze came through, he could smell the ocean. It smelled good and he took a deep breath through his nose to get as much in as possible. He didn't realize how much he missed that smell until this moment. His school was too far away from the ocean to smell that freshness. This was the smell of home and he hadn't known that until this moment.

He shivered a little and pulled the beany he wore down, covering as much of his ears as he could, as he looked around the station. Mabel was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the bus driver, who was supposed to open the storage so that passengers could get their luggage. Like waiting for most people to get off the bus before getting up, Dipper knew it would be easier to stand away from the bus and wait for most of the passengers to collect their luggage before he got his.

"dipper." he heard in the distance and turned his head toward the sound.

"Dipper!" he heard again and smiled.

"DIPPER!" he heard a third time, and started to move.

"DIIIIIIIIIIP-EEEEEEEEEER!"

"Mabel!" he said as soon as he saw her, raising his voice over the sounds of the station, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and just a little bit of anger. "I'm over here."

She turned to him. Her brown eyes lit up and she smiled, "Dipper!" Mabel ran and threw her arms around him. "You're home! You're finally home! I've missed you!"

Dipper felt his anger drop away as he hugged her back. "I've missed you, too."

"When did you get here?" she asked, stepping back from him. Without taking a breath she asked her next question. "Have you been waiting a long time? I'm sorry I got here late. Where's your suitcase? Did you leave it at school? Why would you leave it there? How much of your clothes did you leave at home? When did you start wearing a beany? I like your beany, but I think I liked your cap better. Why did you start wearing a ball cap again? You used to love that woodsman thing that Wendy gave you. You wore it all the time, even when it was hot, and then you stopped. Why was that? Do you want me to decorate a beany for you? I'm going to decorate one for you."

The questions came so quickly that Dipper didn't have time to answer. The best he could do was start to answer, but by the time he finished the first work Mabel was onto another question. She was always exuberant, but never like this. That meant she really was excited to see him. He smiled at her as she continued to bombard him.

Mabel looked good. Her long brown hair was in one think braid that fell halfway down her back. She always talked about cutting her hair short, but never had. Her eyes sparkled and shone due to some trick she had learned while helping with make-up at a local reparatory theater. She wore one the sweatshirts that she had decorated. This one was for Thanksgiving. It featured a family of dancing turkeys with their heads at their feet. He thought it was dark, but funny.

The sweater also fit her better than the ones she'd made and wore through high school. It actually made her look like a woman rather than the fourteen-year old boy her old sweaters made her look like. He'd seen her at home, he knew she had the only things that most boys were looking for, she just wore boxy sweaters she'd bought from thrift stores. Someone finally convinced her to buy at least one fitted sweater. She looked like the beautiful girl she'd always been inside.

"-as the trip? It was long, wasn't it? I bet it was. Did your bus have a bathroom? Did you use the bathroom? How do they keep the water from sloshing out? Is there wat--?" She paused. "What are you smiling at?

"I'm just happy to see you," he said. "I've missed being around you. I've missed your energy."

She blushed.

"I still need to get my suitcase," he said. "It's stored under the bus, but I didn't see the driver when I got off. We'll probably have to wait."

"Is it locked?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"You didn't check?"

"Why would I check? You're supposed to wait for the driver to pull the luggage out for you."

"That's just a suggestion," she said. "Which one is your bus? He pointed to it. She grabbed his hand and pulled.

"But Mabel," he said, "he wasn't there to unlock anything."

"Haven't you been watching the other drivers?" she asked, waving around at the station. "They all get off the bus, unlock the storage under the bus, and then run to the bathroom. We can get your luggage and go."

As they approached his former bus, she let go of his hand and pushed through the crowd of passengers. Once she reached the bus, she grabbed the first handle she saw, gave it a twist, yanked it open, looked inside, and then moved to the next. The crowed surged forward and Dipper lost sight of her as he waited.

It didn't take long before he saw her pushing her way out of the scrum, pulling a suitcase behind her. The suitcase had been gift from her for him to take to college. Mabel had taken a simple black case and turned it into the night sky. She didn't simply paint on white dots as stars when she decorated. Somehow she made a swath of the Milky Way across the front as it looks in the night sky. She took the time to put a true piece of art on a silly suitcase for him.

As she walked toward him, she said, "Come on, Dipping Sauce, we have a bus to catch. A bus that waits for no man."

He fell into step with her and they headed to the street.

The entire way home, Mabel peppered him with questions. Yes, school was hard. No, he hadn't made any friends. Yes, he got lonely some times. His roommate was a brilliant, drunken jackass who he couldn't get along with. Yes, there were buses and they were really crowded. No, he hadn't been to any museums. On and on she went and he answered everything he could. He tried to make is sound like he was having a great time all the time.

One question made him uncomfortable. She asked him if he "like-liked" any of the girls in his program. His answer was no, but Mabel had never show that kind of interest in his love life before. Unlike her, he hadn't really dated anyone in high school. He went to the big dances, but always with a friend and never with someone where romantic interest would follow. Being a beard for was a great way to get a non-romantic date for the evening.

And the truth was he hadn't wanted romance for over two years. That was the last time he spoke with Wendy Corduroy. The time she gave him a very special birthday gift. She was gone the next summer, when he and Mabel visited Gravity Falls and the only time he heard from her was when she sent an "I'm okay" e-mail. After Wendy he figured no one else could ever catch his interest. How often does your best friend become more than your friend but is still your best friend? How did you say that to your twin sister?

They got off the bus, Mabel still pulling his suitcase, and walked the few blocks home. She kept asking questions and he answered, but didn’t pay too much attention to her. Everywhere he looked while walking he saw familiar places. Houses where old friends had lived. Houses he was forced to go to for birthday parties. Many of the houses were empty because of the holiday. Others had extra cars lining the street because of the holiday. He wondered if other college freshmen felt this nostalgic after being gone for only a few months.

"Are you excited?" Mabel asked as they turned onto their street.

"About what?" he asked.

"Being home. Seeing Mom and Dad. Thanksgiving dinner. A weekend away from school!"

"I'm happy," he said, smiling at her, "but I'm not excited. I've been to Thanksgiving before."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Dur, you're and idiot."

"No, you’re an idiot."

They turned up the walk to the front door.

"You are."

"You are."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Pfft," she said, opening the door and then holding it for him.

Dipper turned his nose up to her and said, "You should really keep your stinky mouth farts outside the house, thank you very much."

She snorted and started laughing. So did he. His laugh came from deep within. It'd been a long time since he'd laughed like that.

When she settled Mabel called out, "Muh-om, Da-ad, Dipper's home!"

No answer. The house was silent.

They walked over to the stairs and found a note taped to the wall:  
Sorry kids. Mom was called in to cover a shift and there's a server emergency at work that I have to take care of. Turkey's in the fridge. Potatoes are on the counter. Don't hold dinner for us. I doubt we'll be back.  
\--Dad

"Dangit!" said Mabel.

"It just wouldn't feel like being home if Mom and Dad had been here for dinner," Dipper sighed.

"Yeah, well," Mabel said, turning to Dipper. "Let's get your stuff up to your room then we can start cookin'."

"Okay, but we're not making the yams." He handed her his backpack and took the suitcase from her then started up the stairs. Mabel followed.

"I like the yams."

"You like the marshmallows."

"So what?"

"You don't need the yams to eat marshmallows."

"But they're not warm and crispy and gooey straight out of the bag."

They reached the door to his bedroom. He placed the suitcase just inside the room, out of the way of the door. She threw his backpack onto his bed. He cringed, thankful he had put his computer into the suitcase before he got on the bus the night before. They headed down stairs to go to the kitchen.

"You don't need yams to heat marshmallows."

"Then how do you do it?"

"Mabel, you've roasted marshmallows before."

"That's true," she said. "But tell me this, smarty pants, how do I roast marshmallows at home? I shouldn't light a fire in the middle of the kitchen, should I?"

"We have a gas stove."

"So?"

"You can roast marshmallow over the flame."

"Oh, I guess you can."

By this time, they had reached the kitchen. Turkey was waiting for seasoning and roasting. Potatoes were waiting for peeling and boiling. Cans of green beans were waiting to be opened and combined with cans of mushroom soup and topped with crispy onion things. And a pumpkin pie was waiting to be tossed into the oven to bake.

For Mabel, marshmallows were waiting to be roasted and eaten. She was willing to share, though.

Together, between marshmallows, the twins cooked a successful Thanksgiving dinner. The potatoes were lumpy, but full of flavor. The turkey was juicy and the gravy thick. The casserole was exactly the same as it always was. And the pie was a pumpkin pie, a little boring, but sweet and filling.

As they ate, they watched movies. Mabel choose Alice's Restaurant, as she did every year. It was a movie that rambled like the song that inspired it. The problem was that the movie went on for two hours instead of the twenty minutes of the song. Mabel liked it though and there were some funny parts and it actually took place at Thanksgiving, unlike his choice.

Dipper picked Little Women. Yes, he picked Little Women every year, but at least there were lots of versions of his movie. This year was the one with Katharine Hepburn as Jo. Probably the most perfect Jo ever in a movie. Jo was the reason he choose Little Women each year. She was the first crush he'd had, way back when he read the book in third grade. He'd loved how smart and funny she was and how she refused to live the life people thought she should and choose to live the life she wanted. Every time he saw her turn down Laurie's proposal he cheered. This year, Mabel heard his little cheer and gave him a look because she knew why he was so happy and thought it was silly. That was her word: silly.

After the movies they cleaned up. Dipper made sure to put together two plates of food for their parents. He had no idea when they'd get home. His mother was probably filling in behind a twelve-hour shift and if she had been home when Mabel left to meet him at the bus station then at the earliest she'd be back after eight, but she usually stayed later just talking, and this being Thanksgiving she would probably stay even longer. There was no way to estimate when his father would get home. Any time he had an emergency he called it a server problem because he didn't think his family would know what he was talking about otherwise, so there was no way to know what the problem actually was. His father also didn't say where he was working. Was it at the small office in San Francisco? Was it in San Jose? No way to know.

By the time he had changed into his pajama pants and brushed his teeth, it was still just him and Mabel at home.

Dipper walked over to Mabel's room tapped on the partially closed door, and pushed it open. She was working on her tablet. The stylus flew across the screen He wondered what she was drawing and if it was for school or simply for her. He hoped it was for her.

"I'm going to bed," he said.

"Not yet," she said, "come here."

He crossed her room, shuffling his feet so he didn't step on any of art supplies and clothes she had tossed on the floor. He pushed whatever he could off to the left and right to try and make an actual path from the door to her bed. He stood next to her and waited as she finished what she was doing.

She put the tablet down then looked up at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Come on, you rode the bus for, like, days and Mom and Dad aren't even here. And it's a holiday."

"They always miss holidays when we stay home," he said. "Work’s more important to them than us. I got used to that years ago."

"Well, what about-" she trailed off before she finished her question and looked away from him. She sighed, took a deep breath, and then said, "This morning you said that you got lonely at school and, well, I know how hard it is for you to make new friends."

He sat on the edge of her bed and said, "That's what I have you for. You make new friends for me."

"But that's the problem. You don't have me. You're hundreds of miles away. I'm not there for you. You need me."

Smiling, Dipper said, "I do."

She frowned.

"I do need you," he said. "You help me with the things I'm not good at. You help make me a more complete person. But I had to be on my own sometime and learn how to make friends on my own."

"But you're not. You haven't."

"I spend most of my day in labs and doing homework. I could be more like my roommate, he has a lot of 'friends,' but then I'd be drunk five nights a week and probably be kicked out of school at the end of the quarter."

"I just- I worry about you. The last time I talked to Soos he said the last time he heard from Wendy was in April and she's probably the only other person you e-mail besides me."

That was true, but he didn't want to admit it.

"I'm sure she's okay," he said, hoping to change the topic. "The last time I heard from her she was in Alaska working at a husky farm. Can you imagine her planting and watering puppy paw to get those things to grow?”

Mabel frowned, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Okay then, imagine trying to feed all those fluffy puppies? A dozen or more. They probably jump all over her when they’re not frolicking in the snow."

"That would be the best job ever."

"I thought you'd like it."

"Can she take any to sleep with her at night?"

"I don't know. I'll make sure to ask her in the next letter I send."

"Can you imagine snuggling with two or three fluffy doggies every night? I'm so jealous."

Having successfully changed the subject, Dipper yawned and said, "It's been a long day, Mabes. It lasted all night. I need to get to sleep."

"Okay. See you in the morning bro-bro."

"See you tomorrow."

When he pulled her door partially closed, he saw that she had picked up her tablet and had started working again.

Friday, Dipper spent his day doing two things, washing the clothes he brought home from school and studying. Sure, midterms were over, but it was only a couple of weeks until finals and he wasn't going to start his college GPA lower than perfect. He copied the notes he took in class over to a second notebook, leafing through his text books to add context or clarification. When his phone buzzed he hopped up and headed out to the garage to clear out the dryer and move the stuff that had just been washed into dryer. He thought about folding right out of the dryer, but figured that it was better to wait until everything was clean.

Mabel was not okay with Dipper's plans and she made sure he knew how not okay she was. She wanted to do something. Anything. She thought holidays weren't for homework. Holidays were for fun, she argued. They should head into the city and visit the buffalo in the park or check out the new exhibit at the comic art museum or just get out of the house and stop doing homework. Every forty minutes or so, she'd interrupt him with a new idea. The only way he could get her to stop was to promise to do no homework on Saturday and go out with her to do anything she wanted all day long. He agreed right away because he wanted to focus on his work. It wasn't until Mabel had skipped out of the dining room that he wondered if he had made a mistake.

\---------------------------------------------

"Dipper."

He heard the whispered word, but ignored it. It was just a dream.

"Dipper."

The voice was closer to him, but still whispered.

"Dipper."

Turkey breath.

The voice jumped onto the bed and kept bouncing. He knew, though, that if he didn’t move the voice couldn’t see him.

"Come on, Dipper. It's time to get up. I let you sleep all the way until eleven, but now it's time to" -- the bed stopped moving and he felt a body press into his -- "WAKE UP!"

"AHH," he screamed, his head jerking back, hitting Mabel in the chest.

"Ow," she said, sitting back and rubbing where she'd been hit.

"Serves you right," he said, rolling onto his side and looking at his sister. "There are better ways to wake a person up."

"Yeah," she smiled, "but the litter box had been cleaned before I could get to it."

"We don't have a cat."

"Why do we need a cat to have a litter box? Now get out of bed. Get showered. We're going out!"

He watched as she got out of bed and crossed to the door where she turned around and said, "If I don't hear that shower going within the next five minutes I'll drag you into that bathroom and scrub you down myself!"

Dipper got out of bed quickly, be he took his time in the shower. Unless he got up really early at school or took one at night the showers were always cold. Always. The dorms were built to hold dozens and dozens of people, who thought it was a good idea to put in a home sized water heater? Also, he wasn't exactly excited to go out with Mabel. All he really wanted to do was sit around and relax before he had another ten hour bus ride.

He didn't get down to the kitchen until almost noon. Mabel had made a sandwich for him. He was deep into his second bite when she came in.

She looked amazing. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. She wore a sweater that was simply a light purple -- lavender, maybe? -- Not decorated at all. It fitted her better than anything he'd ever seen her wear before. Below that was a darker purple skirt that came just to her knees. Her tights were blue and pink spots on black. And she wore her cruddy old sneakers on her feet. She used a light hand with her make-up, just enough to enhance her natural beauty. Her lips were a deep red, but when they caught the light right the red shown fiercely. People would be staring today and dipper felt uncomfortable for paying this much attention to how his sister looked.

He briefly remembered the first time he noticed that she wasn’t just his sister. They had been playing in the sprinklers in the back yard, running back and forth across the lawn. Sometimes it was a race and sometimes it was a chase. After running around for a particularly long time, he noticed that Mabel was breathing hard. Her chest went up and down in a way it never had before a way that his chest couldn’t. Before this moment, he knew that she was a girl, but he didn’t know she was a GIRL. It made playing in the sprinklers awkward for him. He spent the next several days reconciling the fact that she could never be just his sister again.

"When you're done, we're heading out," she said.

Through his third bite he tried to ask where they were going, but he couldn’t without sandwich leaking onto the floor.

"The Oakland Museum of California," she said, exited. "Pixar's got a new exhibit. One whole room is supposed to be full of the actual models they make before they sculpt on the computer!"

He had to admit, that sounded pretty cool. He stopped chewing long enough to smile at her.

"I knew you'd like it!"

They headed to the bus stop, chatting about what they hoped would be there. Dipper wanted to see a piece of the software they had designed in house to make their movie. That was art. Mabel hoped for something about the color and light and how they were used in the movies. They continued discussing the nuances of Pixar's art as they rode the bus and transferred and rode again. They only stopped when they got to the museum.

Some guy ran up to Mabel, picked her up, and swung her around. After he put her down, she kissed him on the mouth. What the hell?

Mabel laughed, "Andy, what all that for?"

"Just saying hello, sweetie."

The guy was tall, blonde, and ... not doughy. Dipper refused to think of any positive words to describe him. Mabel never had a physical type when it came to boyfriends. Her only type was fun and considering the greeting, this Andy guy must be fun. Dipper cringed.

"Andy," said Mabel, "come meet my brother."

"The one with the birthmark?" Andy asked.

Mabel nodded.

"Bro," said Andy, grabbing Dipper's hand, squeezing, and shaking it, "you gotta let me see that thing."

"Uh," said Dipper, "I'd rather not."

"You gotta," said Andy.

"Maybe later," Dipper said, pulling his beany down lower.

"I'll hold you to that, bro," said Andy.

Behind this Andy person Mabel was talking to an extremely tall, dark-haired young woman. Before this moment, Dipper had never understood how someone could be called "willowy." He understood, now. 

"Dipper," Mabel said, "Come meet Zia."

He walked over to Mabel.

"Zia," said Mabel, "This is my brother, Dipper."

She reached her hand out and he took it to shake. "Nice to meet you, Dipper. How'd you get the name?" 

She was taller than Dipper was. Her eyes were at the level of his forehead. He looked down at her shoes. She wasn't wearing heels.

He looked up into her eyes. They were dark brown, but he saw flecks of green and gold in them. On any other day her beauty would have stunned him into silence.

"Our parent's hated me," he said, flatly.

Zia's furrowed her brow.

"Ha ha," said Mable. Andy's arm was around her and hers was around his waist. She continued, "he got the nickname from his birthmark."

"Oh," said Zia. She turned back to Dipper and asked, "How does that work?"

He resisted grabbing his beany and pulling it even lower. He said, "My birthmark is in the shape of the big dipper."

"The constellation?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool."

“Not rea—“

"Come on you two, let's go!" said Mabel.

Dipper did not have fun at the museum. He spent most of the time fuming at that Andy guy and his stupid actions. Mabel kept laughing, but Dipper was annoyed by him. She shouldn't be with such an idiot. She deserved so much better. And this wasn't the normal protective brother thing, no. Andy was a moron who belonged in an alien zoo displayed as the common puer fraternitatem.

Zia annoyed Dipper, too. She constantly followed him and kept asking him questions. What did she care what his major was? Why did she want to know what he planned to do with a degree in physics? Did he like to travel? What did that have to do with anything? Was she planning to take him across the Pacific to the land of her ancestors?

His only question was why Zia wasn't spending more time with Mabel. They were friends, not him and her. He just wanted to go home.

He didn't, though. After the Pixar exhibit they looked at some paintings, Dipper had no idea what connected all the painting together in the exhibit. Next was a series of photographs of naked people and how they look at younger and older ages. Finally they went out into the gardens. As with most gardens, this one wasn't really worth seeing at the end of November.

As the sun began to set, Dipper started to feel relieved. Finally this was over. No more Andy hanging off Mabel and no more giants following him around. Time to go home. Time to relax and calm down before leaving tomorrow.

"Where are we going for dinner?" asked Mabel, practically hanging off of Andy.

"Let’s go into the city," Andy said.

Dipper suppressed a grunt.

"We could go to Zia's family's restaurant," said Andy. "Get the good stuff."

Zia laughed, "Fine, but no family discount.”

"We're not family anymore," Andy whined.

Dipper rolled his eyes and followed the other three to the nearest BART station.

Dinner took forever and no one cared except Dipper. It was Saturday night, the place was packed and it took them sixty minutes to get seated. Worse than that, while they waited they could order drinks from the bar. Dipper got a cola. No one else ordered a soft drink. Andy ordered a whiskey, Zia had a Manhattan and Mabel got herself a Long Island Ice Tea. She had to show her ID to get it. They all did. He wondered who at Mabel's school was selling.

None of them knew how to drink. Andy kept throwing back his whisky like it was a shot. Zia drank half her drink in a single gulp. And Mabel would fill her mouth up an swish it around before swallowing. This evening was not going to be fun for Dipper.

Zia ordered for them in Cantonese. Dipper was surprised and felt a little guilty for not trying to get to know her. After ordering, Mabel and Zia went to the bathroom. Andy and Dipper sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while before Andy said he saw a friend and left too. Dipper waved down the busboy that seemed to work this section. He gave the busboy a twenty, asking him to keep all the waters full, if he saw any getting close to half full Dipper wanted him to fill it right away.

The meal was the best he'd ever had in Chinatown. Nothing was like that breaded and fried American stuff you could get anywhere, the stuff that always tasted the same. There was some sort of fish, opened up so the ribs pointed in all directions that was sweet and salty. Green beans that still snapped if you bent it. Soup that wasn't quite like anything he'd had before. He wondered how many other places had food not on the menu that could only be ordered by people who spoke the language. Maybe he needed to learn Cantonese so that he could keep eating like this. Maybe he should learn every language so he could get the good stuff everywhere.

Mabel drank more and talked and laughed with Andy and Zia. The three of them were having a great time. Dipper watched the water to make sure it got filled and worried about his sister and about his sister's friends. He didn't know where they lived. How could he make sure they got home okay? It was hard enough to be responsible for Mabel. He really didn't want to be responsible for these other two as well.

The four of them received the family discount for the meal. All they had to pay for were the drinks, except for Dipper's cola. Before they left, Mabel insisted that they go to the kitchen to thank Zia's family. While Mabel, Andy, and Zia talked to the crew, Zia's aunt told Dipper that she loved Mabel like another niece. He looked over at his sister, telling a story and making everyone listening laugh. He understood. She was something special.

Zia left the group outside of the restaurant. Across the street was her cousin's apartment. He had to be in the restaurant early each morning for deliveries. He'd let her sleep over. Dipper watched as the willowy woman very carefully made her way through the crowd and across the street with a grace he never thought a drunk person could pull off. She disappeared around the corner of the building. He hoped she'd be safe.

"We gotta get the two of you to the BART station," said Andy, quite a bit louder than he needed to.

"Where do you live, Andy?" asked Dipper. "We should get you home first."

"No," said Andy, still too loud, "we gotta get the two of you to the BART station."

"Yeah," said Mabel, "the BART station."

"The Bart station!" Andy shouted, taking her hand.

Several of the people waiting pointed toward Market Street. Some said "that way," others spoke in languages he didn't understand. Dipper chose to believe they also said "that way" rather than something derogatory.

Andy and Mabel started walking before Dipper could thank everyone who had pointed, even though he already knew where he needed to go. They were leaning on each other, but Dipper was pretty sure that each was trying to take support from the other.

Dipper kept trying to get Andy to say where he lived. Each time he was asked Andy just said they needed to get to the BART station. Mabel kept agreeing.

A walk that should have taken no longer than fifteen minutes felt like it took hours, but they finally reached the escalators down to the station. On TV it was funny watching drunk people get onto an escalator. In real life, and when you twin sister was one of the drunks, it was scary. Dipper constantly thought she'd fall over, tumble down the moving stairs and break her neck. Fortunately it was only worry. Both she and Andy made it down without incident. They even step off with all the confidence a drunk could muster.

"The BART station!" Andy shouted. "We made it to the BART station!"

"How do we get you home, Andy?"

"We go over there," Andy said, pointing behind him, then pointing to the left, then pointing to the wall.

"I don't understand," said Dipper.

Andy looked thoughtful then shouted, "L to Sunset!"

"MUNI?" asked Dipper. "You need to get onto MUNI?"

"L to Sunset," Andy said again.

During this whole conversation Mabel had been sitting on the floor, tracing the spaces between the brick. Dipper squatted down, took her hands, and pulled her up. With one hand holding Mabel's hand and the other on Andy's back he worked their way to the MUNI Metro's entrance.

Andy bumped into the closed gate a few times.

"Give me your wallet, Andy," said Dipper.

Andy handed it to him. Dipper let go of Mabel to take it. It was made of zebra stripped duct tape. Dipper held the wallet over the sensor and the gate opened. Andy walked through and kept walking.

"Andy," called Dipper.

Andy stopped and turned around and waved. Dipper waved the wallet. Andy walked back over and grabbed it. 

Before letting the wallet go, Dipper asked, "Where are you going?"

"L to Sunset," said Andy.

"Yeah," said Dipper, releasing the wallet, "you tell that to anyone who asks.

Andy nodded, turned around again, and walked away.

Dipper watched until he couldn't see Andy anymore. He figured Andy had made the trip home like this many times before, but he still worried about Mabel's friend.

The last one he had to help get home was spinning in the mostly empty station. It was too late for the family tourists to be traveling and too early for most people out on the town to go home.

Mabel saw Dipper coming toward her. She stopped spinning and walked toward him. She took his left hand in her right, held them up, and spun into him.

"Do you hear the waltz?" she asked, her left hand on his shoulder and her hips swaying. "Can we dance?"

He put his right hand on the small of her back and they danced. Mabel's smile was infectious. The station fell away. He could hear an orchestra. The universe was the two of them dancing.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Mabel said, resting her head against him.

He stopped. "We have to get down to the train."

"Yeah," said Mabel, "we have to go home."

Dipper got them down the train platform and into one of the cars. He was grateful for the time day because there were plenty of seats and if Mabel got sick her mess probably wouldn't get on anyone.

They sat as close to the exit as they could.

"I'm cold," said Mabel.

"Sorry, I don't have a jacket," said Dipper.

"Give me your beany."

"It's not going to help."

"You lose ninety percent of your body heat through your head."

"That's not true."

"Come on, Dipping Sauce. Please."

"Fine," he grumbled and pulled the beany off his head, static crackling in his ears.

Mabel took the Beany and put it on. He smoothed his hair down while looking at his reflection in the window. He wanted to make sure his birthmark was covered.

"You shouldn't do that," she said as she straightened the beany.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Hide who you are."

He looked away from the window and at his sister. "What?" he asked.

She reached up and brushed his bangs away from his forehead. "Hide who you are," she said again and began tracing his birthmark with one hand, the other holding his bangs back. She looked into his eyes and he felt like she was looking into the depths of his being. Part of him wanted to turn away, but he couldn't.

After she finished the tail she dropped her hands and looked out the window. Dipper watched the back of her head for a minute before facing forward and smoothing his hair over his forehead.

"Zia liked you," Mabel said.

"She did?"

"She thought you were smart and sweet and cute."

"When did she say any of that?"

"In the bathroom."

"Was this a setup?"

There was no answer.

"Mabel," he said, "tell me. Was this a setup? Were you trying to set me up with Zia?"

"Yeah," she said, sheepishly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd come."

She was right, he wouldn't have.

"Why did you try to set me up at all?" he asked.

She turned to him and said, "I don't want you to be alone. To be lonely."

"And Zia was the answer?"

"No." She looked deep into his eyes again and said, "No, she was a beginning. Like training wheels. A safe way to get you started to do this on your own. So you can love someone and be loved and not be alone. Not lonely."

"Just because I'm alone," he said, frowning "doesn't mean I'm lonely."

"I know but-"

"Mabel," he said fiercely, then sighed and calmed himself down. "Mabel, at this point in my life, I've been in love with two people, but only sort of in a romantic way, kind of. One's disappeared into the giant world. The other- the other's just not possible."

"I just don't want you to hurt."

"Hurt's not a bad thing. Hurt is part of love." He put his arm around her.

"I can't be happy if you're not."

"You can, Mabel. I give you permission to be happy."

They sat in silence the rest of the ride under the bay. By the time they were waiting for the bus back home Mabel had moved out of the sad/thoughtful drunk back to the fun/silly drunk. He just wanted to get home. He was tired, physically and emotionally. He needed sleep to drive everything away.

They got home and Dipper had to push Mabel up the stairs. She had been saying she needed to pee for half a block, but she also wanted to dance again. She wanted to dance more than she had to pee. He didn't trust her enough to dance with her again.

When he finally wrangled her into the upstairs bathroom, he leaned against the wall across from the door and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. It had been a long day. Longer than that stupid bus ride. Maybe the longest day since his first summer in Gravity falls.

"It's your turn," she said as she opened the door. "And you can have this back." she tossed the beany to him.

The beany got shoved into his pocket as he went into the bathroom to do his business and try his best to not think about his life.

After he finished, he stepped out of the bathroom and yawned and stretched, reaching his hands up as high as he could. The lower part of his shirt lifted, causing the bottom part of his belly to show.

"Oh ho," Mabel said, leaning against the wall across from the bathroom.

She took a step and stumbled a bit.

He caught her. Her face was in his. She smelled awful, but she was smiling. 

"Dipper," she said as he got her back on her feet. "Dippity do dah." She leaned toward him. "Dippity doppity doo." She drunkenly smiled at him, lifted his shirt up a little, and lightly moved her fingers over the hairs that ran down from his belly button. "I want you to know that I know where these lead." She put her lips to his ear and whispered, "I do." She dropped his shirt and moved toward her room.

He froze. His face and neck got hot, hotter than anytime he could remember. What the hell was this? How did that fit into this night? Into this life? Was this a joke? It had to be the alcohol speaking. Right? Just some crazy drunk joke.

When he could move again, he headed to his room. He shut the door and turned out the light. He climbed into his bed without changing his shirt or taking off his jeans or socks. He stared at the ceiling, but didn't see the glowing stars he’d put up there as a kid, not even his namesake. He didn't see anything above him. He could only see Mabel's drunken smile and feel the lightness of her touch. She hadn't touched actual skin, only the hairs. He shivered as he thought about it over and over. Never in his life had he imagined such a sensual experience existed, let alone that he'd get to experience it.

Sleep was a long time coming that night.

\---------------------------------------

"I can't believe my head isn't pounding this morning," said Mabel as they walked to the bus stop. "I drank so much."

"Yeah you did," said Dipper. "I paid the busser to keep your water full. I knew that when you finished your tea you'd reach for the water and start sipping. Why do you hate having a full glass of water at the table?"

"I don't know. I just don't-" She shook her head. "I just don't like it."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the bus stop. Dipper felt awkward because of what happened last night and he didn't want to talk about it. He hoped that Mabel didn't remember. He pulled on his beany, making sure it was in place, and looked over at his sister. She was wearing another nicely fitting sweater. This one was a dark blue and she'd lightly drawn in many of the northern constellations. His birthmark was right over her heart.

At the bus stop Mabel asked, "Did I barf?"

"Not while I was with you."

"The good ole iron stomach comes through again."

"You feel sick now?"

"No," she said. "Just tired and embarrassed."

"Why embarrassed?"

"Because I was so stupid."

"You weren't the only one."

"Maybe not, but you didn't drink at all, did you?"

"Nope."

"One of us had to be the smart one," Mabel said sarcastic.

"One of us doesn't have a fake ID."

"Uch. The smart one."

The bus pulled up and they got on.

After they sat, Mabel said, "You remember what you said the other night?"

Dipper's stomach dropped. Did she want to talk about last night now? They weren't far from the Greyhound station and him leaving. Why would she want to start something so serious now, right before he left?

"Remind me," he said, trying to play cool.

"You make me a more complete person, too," she said. "I think I need you even more than you think you need me." She rubbed tears away from her eyes.

"I'm only a phone call away."

"But you never answer your phone. You never call back."

"I always text or e-mail."

"Yeah," she said, sniffling. "Sometimes I just want to hear your voice."

"Then the next time I see that you're calling, I'll ask WWMD."

"What would Madonna do?"

He laughed. "No. What would Mabel do?"

"I'd pick up the phone."

"I know."

They got off the bus and walked over to the Greyhound station in silence. They both walked in and over to the ticket agent. Dipper handed over his printout and was pointed to the door out to the busses. Mabel followed him.

"Hey," they both heard, "you in the blue sweater. You can't go that way without a ticket."

"Sure," said Mabel, letting go of Dipper's suitcase, turning around, and walking out of the building.

Dipper stood there, dumbfounded, but not for long because the voice started saying he was holding up the line. Dipper didn’t see any line.

He saw Mabel again in front of his bus.

"What-" he started.

"You don't have to go through actual station to get to the busses," she said. "Remember how we left on Thursday. Straight out to the street."

He felt stupid.

"Kid?"

Dipper turned and saw the bus driver.

"Are you taking that" - she pointed to the suitcase - "on the bus with you?"

"No," he said, handing the suitcase over, "thank you."

The driver put the suitcase under the bus and locked the storage up then said, "I'll give you a minute to say good-bye to your girlfriend, but we're leaving on time with or without you."

"She's not-" started Dipper, but he was cut off by Mabel raising her voice saying, "Thanks. I'll make sure he's there."

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Just easier."

"Yeah but-"

"Don't worry about it. Now come over here and give me a hug good-bye."

He did. She squeezed him tightly, so he squeezed a little bit harder.

She let one of her arms drop and whispered, "I remember everything." She ran her hand over the bottom of his stomach. "And I love you very much." She kissed him on the cheek, but it didn't feel like the pecks his aunts had given him over the years. It felt like a promise.

She let go of him and gave him a little push. "Now get on the bus."

He turned away from her, stepped onto the bus, and climbed the stairs, his hand on his cheek. He walked down the aisle, still stunned. Could another best friend really love him like that?

He found an empty seat and stood at the window. The bus had started and Mabel has taken several steps back. The windows didn't open, but he wanted to get his attention. He hit the window and she looked his direction. Could she see in? Were the windows too dark? He held his hands up to his chest, curving his fingers, straightening his thumbs, and putting the two hands together to make a heart. Could she see it?

The bus started pulling away. She had to see him. Please let her see him, he begged the universe.

As the bus began to turn out of the station, he saw Mabel put her hands into the same shape on her chest then he couldn't see her any more.

Dipper Pines collapsed onto his seat and sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by this [picture](http://in-your-face-elizabeth.tumblr.com/post/59952882376/bless-you-for-not-being-body-hair-phobic) by in-your-face-elizabeth.
> 
> I could never do justice to such a fun image – that’s not the kind of writer I am, yet – but it made me wake up at 3AM one morning with the idea for this story in my head and I couldn’t get back to sleep.
> 
> Also, there’s no way I can heap enough praise on the art and writing on her/his tumblr. The art over there is what started me reading this pinecest stuff because I could see that sometimes it was more about the emotional themes rather than the adult action.


End file.
